Behind the everyday bargains we all love — the $10 manicure, the unlimited shrimp buffet — is a hidden world of forced labor to keep those prices at rock bottom. Noy Thrupkaew investigates human trafficking – which flourishes in the US and Europe, as well as developing countries – and shows us the human faces behind the exploited labor that feeds global consumers.

Beyond that, the rumors were true: That iris sensor is here, sitting just above the Note 7's screen. You can use it to unlock the phone or access content you've secured (more on that in a bit). The sensor takes a minute to set up, and works pretty well even with big glasses like mine. (Samsung admits that glasses with certain coatings might make things tricky.) As neat as the technology is, it doesn't actually seem that useful right at first blush. When I was trying to unlock a Note 7 with my gaze, getting my eyes lined up correctly took more time than a fingerprint scan normally would. This will probably get easier with time, but be sure to keep your expectations in check all the same. More importantly, there's simply not much to do with that iris sensor right now. Samsung says we'll eventually be able to use our eyes to log into accounts and authenticate Samsung Pay transactions , but neither of those features are ready just yet.

In a world first, a US-based company has been granted permission to travel beyond Earth’s orbit into deep space. Moon Express, founded in 2010 by billionaire tech entrepreneur Naveen Jain, just received FAA clearance to send a robotic probe to the moon’s surface to scout it for valuable resources.

Everyone who signs up for or switches to 1Password's individual subscription before September 21st will get their first six months for free — "no ifs, ands, or buts (or ads)" according to AgileBits. The company claims that it will continue supporting the traditional per-platform license model and plans to update 1Password for both sets of subscribers. Subscriptions are clearly the route that AgileBits hopes most customers will choose, though. $2.99 is a small enough cost that some people might never bother cancelling once they've signed up. But if you're of the "pay once and be done with it" mindset, then hopefully AgileBits sticks to its word on supporting both models.

Dropbox today is launching dedicated Android and iOS apps for its Dropbox Paper collaborative note-taking program, which has been previously limited to the web. Also today, Dropbox is graduating Dropbox Paper to open beta, meaning that anyone can start using it right away, and there’s no need to sign up for a waiting list.

Tesla Motors Inc reported its 13th straight quarterly loss as a rise in sales of its Model S and Model X electric cars failed to make up for the huge cost of ramping up production. The company, run by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elon Musk, said on Wednesday it was on track to deliver about 50,000 new Model S and Model X vehicles during the second half of 2016. Shares of Tesla, which has offered to buy solar panel installer SolarCity Corp for $2.6 billion , were volatile in after-hours trading. They were last up 1 percent. Tesla delivered 14,402 vehicles in the second quarter, missing its goal of 17,000. It delivered 14,810 vehicles in the first quarter, which was also less than its expectations. Tesla said its net loss widened to $293.2 million, or $2.09 per share, in the second quarter, from $184.2 million, or $1.45 per share, a year earlier. Total revenue rose 33 percent to $1.27 billion in the quarter ended June 30.

We are investigating the breach to determine what happened, but we know that some of our users have had their bitcoins stolen. We are undertaking a review to determine which users have been affected by the breach. While we conduct this initial investigation and secure our environment, bitfinex.com will be taken down and the maintenance page will be left up.

For Elon Musk, star-touched vision and messy reality collide
A fatal crash, Tesla production snags and an unusual deal with SolarCity raise questions about the bounds of Musk's futuristic reach.
Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2aAMzku

Most powerful of all is Instagram’s current perch in the social world – it’s already got a network full of people actively using the app to make friends, follow new people and discover different parts of the world. That’s the killer feature Snapchat doesn’t have: the sense of community.

In a major shift compared to London 2012, some of the big television providers have big plans for 4K this year. Comcast, DirecTV and Dish have announced that they'll be serving up 83 hours of Ultra HD content from the Rio Olympics. The only caveat is that most of it won't be live, but this is still a perfect opportunity to put your shiny, new 4K TV to good use. The opening and closing ceremonies will be available in 4K on a 2.5-hour delay, while content from other events (such as basketball, swimming and track and field) is expected to hit the on-demand Rio 2016 portal the next day.

Although it was initially identical to its iOS counterpart, Apple has been slowly adding features to the Android version of its music app to take advantage of non-Apple hardware. Earlier this year, the Android version got a homescreen widget and the ability to save offline music to SD card storage. On the other hand, that missing equalizer was likely a symptom of porting the app from iOS, where that feature is tucked away in the Settings app.

I posed that question to the CDC, whose response was a resounding “no”—or at least, “not yet.” “At this point I would not discourage anyone from changing their [holiday] plans,” CDC spokesperson Bert Kelly told Gizmodo, explaining that the travel advisory for pregnant women will hold until 45 days after officials see no more signs of local transmission. In other words, it’s just too early to say.

It's a sad day in Waterloo, folks: Kim Kardashian West, international celebrity and staunch defender of the physical keyboard's merits, has given up on her beloved BlackBerry Bold. While Kardashian has other phones — she uses an iPhone 6S for pictures and selfies, among other tasks — the Bold has served as her business workhorse for years: "If you write an email and you need to type fast — I like having the board," said Kardashian at Recode 's 2014 Code/Mobile conference . "They don't even have them in stores anymore. I buy them on eBay... And I like to have three in my room that I line up in case they break."

Apple on Wednesday released version 1.0.0 of the Apple Music Android app, making relatively minor changes, but officially taking the service's Android support out of beta.
The app update incorporates "equalizer settings and a variety of performance, playback, and stability improvements," according to release notes. The download is free for devices running Android 4.3 or later, though most features require a monthly subscription.
Apple has only gradually brought Android support up to par with iOS. Initially, for instance, Android users couldn't access music videos or in-app sign-ups for Family plans .
The platform does offer some unique perks however, including the ability to save music to an SD card, and a home screen widget for quick playback control and track information.
Apple is normally resistant to supporting Android, preferring to nudge people into buying iPhones and iPads. The company has just three Android apps in all, one of which is actually a tool for migrating to iOS.
With Apple Music though the company was in a position of having to support legacy Beats Music subscribers on Android, and wanting to maximize the service's future listener base.

Microsoft today is announcing that new security features inside the Operations Management Suite — a cloud service for managing public cloud and private cloud infrastructure that includes backup, site recovery, and log analytics capability — are now generally available following a preview.

Thanks to a bevy of unspecified behind-the-scenes changes, explained Google engineer Renganathan Ramamoorthy, Chrome now handles video files on web pages much more efficiently. Load time, or the period between when you press a video embed’s “play” button and when playback begins, has been dramatically reduced: shorter clips begin now begin playing within nine milliseconds, on average, compared to the one second or more they took on older versions of Chrome — a 5x improvement. In addition, clips now buffer less frequently and play back more “smoothly,” and better still they impact battery life less drastically.

The billionaire Kochs, unnerved by Trump's support for protectionism and mass deportations, were forced to push back this weekend in Colorado Springs against speculation from associates that they could support Hillary Clinton. Yet because they have not said how they personally will vote, some in their powerful network of donors are holding out hope that they will back the party that David Koch represented as vice president in 1980: the Libertarians.

The magic roundabout is more glorious still, an artifact of 20th century optimism and a belief that all things can be more perfect. It gives the cars multiple pathways to the same destination. As people choose their personal routes, they decrease the likelihood of colliding. They move freely and safely—to the right as well as the left. More options, more efficiency. The elders approve.

So, let’s recap. If you’re headed to Rio this month, either to compete or enjoy the apocalypse as a spectator, bear in mind any contact with the water almost guarantees exposure to something that can cause diarrhea or worse. If you can’t avoid contact, limit it, shower frequently, and go to the doctor as soon as you’re home. With a little luck, you’ll emerge from the experience of swimming in a toilet with nerves of steel, a souped-up immune system, and a deep appreciation for the wonders of modern sanitation.

General Electric is hoping to bring the adventures straight to fans’ mobile devices by streaming its journey down the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua. The trip’s purpose is to install a wireless sensor network in one of the world’s most active lava lakes to monitor when the next eruption may occur, and gain real-time data to create early detection systems.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A Florida-based company won U.S. government permission on Wednesday to send a robotic lander to the moon next year, the firm's founder said, marking the first time the United States has cleared a private space mission to fly beyond Earth’s orbit.

The patterns produced from gunshots are particularly difficult to interpret. Blood dripping from a cut finger will form large, spherical drops as it hits the ground; that formation is about the interplay between gravity and surface tension. But a gunshot wound is a violent impact, and the force of the bullet is much stronger than gravity and can overcome any surface tension. Because the blood is denser than the air through which it travels, it breaks up into smaller drops (atomization), forming a cloud that sprays out from the wound. During their flight, these clouds of tiny drops are strongly affected by air drag, as well as gravity.

We see there that the bus is using hub-mounted motors for propulsion. This, of course, makes a lot of sense, as it allows the drive train to be highly modular, redundant, easy to swap/service, and eliminates the need for a separate steering mechanism, since wheel motors on each side can be varied in speed to allow for a sort of skid steering type of setup, like that used on tanks, and, maybe more closely, Mars rovers like Curiosity, which use (much smaller) wheel hub motors as well.

In a rare tweet extolling the performance of a specific Apple product, CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday said July was a record-breaking month for the App Store, with highest-ever monthly billings and payouts to developers.
Cook followed up the initial tweet by congratulating App Store developers, who have now earned more than $50 billion since Apple's software sales platform launched in 2008. No figures were discussed beyond the massive payout number.
The comments come a week after Apple revealed a record-setting quarter for its services business, which includes iTunes, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple Pay, Apple Care and the various App Stores. Over the past year, revenue from services jumped $4 billion to $23.1 billion. Of note, App Store revenue reached a new all-time high after finishing up 37 percent for the quarter.
During Apple's most recent investor conference call , Cook said Apple's services alone will be the size of a Fortune 100 company next year .
Historically, Cook uses Twitter as a PR service, tweeting out generic updates on current events in the Apple world or commentary on human rights issues.

“We had hoped to update the software on your watch to address the problem,” the company said in a statement. “Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we aren’t able to develop such a solution without completely compromising the user experience. As a result, we are asking that you return your Basis Peak watch and authorized accessories for a full refund at your earliest convenience.”

Basis had sent a notice to Peak customers on June 13th telling them to no longer wear the device because of the burn risk. The company had hoped to resolve the issue with a software fix, but it now says that is not possible. The Peak services will remain running until December 31st so that customers can download their data. After that, all Peak services will be shut down and the device will no longer sync its data.

“The entire Rocket team is delighted to join the Penn National family and leverage their expertise and nationwide reach to take our game development capabilities and company growth to the next level,” Gelpi said in a statement. “Social and online gaming is an extremely attractive segment of mobile and online gaming, and tying our innovative gaming expertise to a traditional casino operator with a qualified database of customers will create unmatched opportunities for both Rocket Games and Penn National.”

If you’re unfamiliar with the site, Rotten Tomatoes is an aggregator of sorts that allows fans and critics to post their thoughts on films. It doesn’t actually do the reviews itself, it just serves as a central location for you to get a quick peak at whether a film is worth watching. Suicide Squad is not — at least according to critics.

Authorities said Gaines was armed during the standoff with a 12-gauge pistol grip shotgun that was legally purchased last year and toward the end of the negotiations pointed it directly at an officer. She said, "If you don't leave, I'm going to kill you," the Associated Press reports.

For our first installment, we reached out to Beastmode himself, Marshawn Lynch, to find out whether fitness watches can really coach a gym rat to full-on pro athlete status. Except, Beastmode doesn’t work out in the conventional sense. So, Marshawn did us a solid and called up his cousin, Defensive Rookie of the Year and Kansas City Chiefs Cornerback Marcus Peters, to strap on three top-rated fitness watches and give them the workout of a lifetime.

Listen. We know most of you out there are well aware of the dangers and lasting effects of nuclear weapons. And, of course, it’s possible this is all a misunderstanding (the Trump campaign didn’t respond to WIRED’s request for comment). But this report, combined with other comments Trump has made about nuclear war in the past, form a rough—and terrifying—outline of what a potential Trump nuclear doctrine would be.

Bowles said one challenge in assessing the tech industry’s progress is that companies are selectively transparent — showing certain numbers while not revealing other relevant information. For example, she said, it’s tough to assess overall progress without knowing about turnover and retention. Gains in new hires may be cancelled out by turnover because women and minorities also leave tech companies in higher numbers than white men. Research has suggested this is more an effect of feeling pushed out or not being supported than it is related to family reasons, she said.

In Fraser-Pryce's case, you wonder why she'd be tempted to use a new shoe at Rio 2016 . After all, she's won gold in the women's 100m in the past two summer Olympics. Why fix something that isn't broken? But in a sport where one-tenth of a second could be the difference between silver and gold, any advantage helps. And while the final design of the Zoom Superfly Elite doesn't feature a 3D-printed plate, the research was crucial to develop the plastic version that over 100 Nike-sponsored athletes will wear at the Olympics.

In a rare tweet extolling the performance of a specific Apple product, CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday said July was a record-breaking month for the App Store, with highest-ever monthly billings and payouts to developers.
Cook followed up the initial tweet by congratulating App Store developers, who have now earned more than $50 billion since Apple's software sales platform launched in 2008. No figures were discussed beyond the massive payout number.
The comments come a week after Apple revealed a record-setting quarter for its services business, which includes iTunes, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple Pay, Apple Care and the various App Stores. Over the past year, revenue from services jumped $4 billion to $23.1 billion. Of note, App Store revenue reached a new all-time high after finishing up 37 percent for the quarter.
During Apple's most recent investor conference call , Cook said Apple's services alone will be the size of a Fortune 100 company next year .
Historically, Cook uses Twitter as a PR service, tweeting out generic updates on current events in the Apple world or commentary on human rights issues.

We were disappointed when Polar sacrificed the GPS capabilities of the M400 smart sports watch so that its A300 , revealed in early 2015, could hit the market with a cheaper price tag. But affordability is apparently no longer as important to the company as features, because Polar’s new M600 is a full-on Android Wear smartwatch.

There are several rumors swirling about Twitter being a prime acquisition candidate. At a market cap of $12+ billion or so, it’s not an easy company to swallow. But it would not be beyond the ability of many to do so. I have no inside information on whether the rumors are true or not. But since the rumors are out there, let’s do a little speculation about who might snap it up and why.

Bowles said one challenge in assessing the tech industry’s progress is that companies are selectively transparent — showing certain numbers while not revealing other relevant information. For example, she said, it’s tough to assess overall progress without knowing about turnover and retention. Gains in new hires may be cancelled out by turnover because women and minorities also leave tech companies in higher numbers than white men. Research has suggested this is more an effect of feeling pushed out or not being supported than it is related to family reasons, she said.

A key part of the design is where it will eventually be installed: Yoshino, in the Nara prefecture, which is home to Japan’s most famous cedar forests. That location, and Nara’s strong community of craftsmen, made it relatively easy to source all the building materials locally, from the upholstery to the furniture. On the ground floor, there’s a living room available for community use, a kitchen, and a 16-foot-long center dining table. "Imagine it’s lunch time and you’re eating and at the end of the table there’s a community meeting taking place," says Gebbia. "I picture Western guests walking up, stepping inside, and you’re interacting with the community from the minute you arrive. If you want to tour the sake factory, or the chopstick factory, or take a hike, the locals are right there." The building itself sits on a wide, rippling stream, so that visitors can watch fishermen catch fish served in the sushi restaurants down the street. Upstairs are the bedrooms, oriented east-to-west, to track the rising and setting of the sun.

Owing to some horrendously long flight times, scientists have speculated that certain birds are capable of sleep during flight. A remarkable new experiment by an international team of researchers has now proven this to be true, showing that birds can catch a snooze while hitching a ride on rising air currents.

Thought up during a now-legendary run on Black Panther , The Crew was a labor of love spearheaded by Christopher Priest, the man who was the first black writer and editor at Marvel Comics. Priest wanted to create a book that would speak to the urban readers that he knew Marvel wasn’t reaching. It focused on four unlikely heroes jostling against each other’s competing agendas and dissonant methods. The series starts with James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine at his lowest ebb. He’s the anti-Tony Stark here, bankrupt, delusional and grieving, using pieces of old War Machine armor to grasp at justice for the drug overdose death of his sister. As more issues came out readers were re-introduced to Kasper Cole/White Tiger, a biracial twentysomething cop eager to make busts in his day job as a cop while learning to master the sensory powers he gets an acolyte of the Black Panther. Danny Vicente/Junta was another character from Priest’s Panther run, a freelance intelligence operative with gravity-distortion powers. The team would be rounded out by new character Josiah X, a black Muslim minister.

Email can be a slippery beast, and one thread of messages Gizmodo recently received—seemingly by mistake—has given us a window into how Microsoft prepares its employees for the apparently terrifying prospect of talking to the press.

Windows 10 made managing multiple desktops much easier and more straightforward than it was in Windows 7. It was one of the most underrated and overdue features of Windows 10. Now, it’s getting even better. The Task View interface, which you call up by pressing Win+Tab, now gives you a few more useful options. You can right-click a window to move it to another desktop (previously you could only drag windows from one desktop to another). You can also use the Task View to snap windows to the left and right side of the screen.